No Winners in Bonn

Abstract

The compromises made at the conference on climate change held in Bonn seem more of a step backward than an attempt to push the Kyoto Protocol and aid the environment.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that concluded late last month in Bonn resulted in what is being described as "a historic agreement" and "a major victory for the environment". The so-called landmark deal reached by Environment Ministers from 178 nations agreed on the operational outline for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that had set specific objectives for reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of industrialised countries. This agreement should smooth the way for negotiations on the remaining details that need to be ironed out for the implementation of the Protocol and will thus hopefully lead to its ratification by next year in time for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

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